Freeride Montpelier

Montpelier Ride of Silence May 16

freeridemontpelier — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:17:48 +0000

From the VBPC

On Wednesday, May 16, the VBPC will host the annual Ride of Silence to remember all bicyclists killed and injured in crashes with motor vehicles. That afternoon, beginning at 4:30, the VBPC can use help with the following:

Carrying material from the VBPC office on Court Street to the state house lawn
Setting up displays and banners
Registering bicyclists
Distributing arm bands, bumper stickers, etc.
Taking photographs
Leading and sweeping the ride itself which proceeds single file, in silence, on Route 2 to Middlesex and back

If you can assist with any of the above, please let Nancy Schulz at VBPC know. Even if you can’t help out, we hope you will participate in the Ride of Silence by coming to the state house at 5:30 that evening. Thanks.

More Info on Rides of Silence in Vermont HERE

May is National Bike Month!

freeridemontpelier — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:47:32 +0000

Celebrate by bringing your bike by Freeride and letting us help you get it in tip-top condition!

It’s also the start of the VT Bike Challenge! This fun season-long campaign challenges all of us to bike more often. Sign up today! It starts in May and continues through August.

Freeride Benefit Drag Ball this Friday!

freeridemontpelier — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:42:29 +0000

What The Cat Dragged In: Bedrazzled! A Drag Ball!

Fri, March 16th 7pm.

Plainfield Community Center

153 Main St.

Plainfield, VT

Drag Performances, DJ Square-Hip

$7 suggested donation.

Please join us. Fancy dress and wild gender expressions of all sorts heartily encouraged!

Upcoming Workshops

freeridemontpelier — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:51:58 +0000

1. Touring Workshop (Mon. Feb. 27th) 6-8pm

Freeride invites you to come to a presentation by Josh Pitts and Dawn Fancher about their experience on bike tour from Enfield, CT to Astoria, OR. They will show pictures of their cross country trip and answer questions. We also encourage anyone else to bring their own stories about bicycle touring so that we can all exchange stories, tips, ask each other questions and be ready to plan awesome adventures for the upcoming bicycle season.

2. D.I.Y. Pannier Making Workshop ( Wed. March 14th) 6:30-8pm

Several years ago a friend taught me how to make bicycle panniers out of two old back packs. The design is very simple and cheap. Two back packs, one square 5 gallon buckets, one bungie cord, four hooks, eight washers, bolts and nuts. I am still using these panniers today, at least 4 years later. Come learn how to make them yourself! If you can, bring: old back packs, square buckets and bungie cords. I’ll provide the hardware and bring extra back packs, buckets and bungies. *Please RSVP so I can plan how much of everything to bring* (sharrow32@yahoo.com) Workshop led by Madeline.

3. Intro. to Basic Bicycle Maintenance (Wed. April 4th) 6:30-8pm

This is a workshop for bicycle owners who want to know more about using and maintaining their bike. The workshop will be taught by Madeline and Emer. We will cover: finding the right bike for you, general up-keep, identifying the parts on your bicycle, brake systems, trouble-shooting tubes/tires and basic emergency road repairs. Please feel free to bring your bicycle to the workshop.

4. Planning Freeride’s part in All Species Day Parade (Sun. April 1st.) 3pm-5pm

Join us for a planning/costume-making session for Freeride’s part in the All Species Day Parade. Shall we all dress up as baby goats and ride kids bikes? (get it?) kangaroos and make tall bikes? fish? ducks? Freeride invites anyone who’s interested in being part of the parade with us to come up with something terrific together. Bring costume-making stuff and creativity. We will provide bicycle thingys and a hot glue gun.

Workshop cost: sliding scale donation $5 or ORE credits

Need a Job?

freeridemontpelier — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Local Motion is looking for someone to take over managing Bike Recycle Vermont, their non-profit bike shop (in Burlington).
Job Opportunity: Bike Recycle Vermont Program Manager

Meanwhile in Lobos Azul Cafe, Oaxaca…

freeridemontpelier — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:12:20 +0000

I think this calls for a co-op field trip to investigate!

(Thanks to Ron Manganiello for alerting us.)

Movie Night Sunday 1/29

freeridemontpelier — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:50:25 +0000

For our second movie night, we’ll be showing American Flyers! Come to the upstairs part of the shop on Sunday, January 29th, at 7, and bring something comfy to sit on. We’ll provide the popcorn. Our first movie night was a blast, and we hope you’ll join us for this one.

American Flyers is a 1985 movie about a bicycle race across the Rockies, starring Kevin Costner.

Free! (But you can always stuff something in the donation box.)

Montpelier Bike Lane Funding

freeridemontpelier — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:42:51 +0000

An important update on Montpelier Bike Lane funding from our friends at http://www.montpelierbikes.org/ (via their mailing list) –

Mary Hooper reports that rather than put a specific dollar amount to bike improvements next year, city council adopted a policy that calls for sidewalks and bike ways to be addressed whenever the adjacent roads are paved. The notion is that this will, over time, improve the bike/ped opportunities. The policy also calls for spending an additional $500,000 annually on CIP projects.

Additionally, Mary reports that the $ allocation to fund the entire wish-list that’s in the CIP budget would result in an “untenable” tax increase, so things will need to be cut. So it is important for bike/ped advocates to be telling our leaders to fund these improvements.
Budget presentation is at the City Council meeting this Wednesday December 7th, and there will be ongoing discussions about the budget on the 14th & 21st of December, and 4th of January. Then there will be two public hearings on the overall budget in January before it gets finalized.

Getting in touch with your councilors and attending these meetings will really help improve our cycling infrastructure.

Winterize Your Bike Workshop

freeridemontpelier — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:00:38 +0000

Wednesday, October 19 · 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Freeride Montpelier
89 Barre Street
Montpelier, VT

This workshop will prepare bicycle owners to ride their bike through a rainy, windy, snowy non-summer season. It will include how to modify your bicycle for snow conditions, how to dress for winter temperatures, and safety tips for riding on snow-covered roads.
Sliding scale donation $5+ (or ORE credits)

Registration is not required, but if you plan to attend-please email us so we can get a rough idea of how many people to plan for.

Questions and registration: freeridemp@riseup.net

Intro to Basic Bicycle Maintenance Workshop

freeridemontpelier — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:17:47 +0000

Time	Wednesday, September 21 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Location	Freeride Bike Shop 89 Barre Street Montpelier, VT

This is a workshop for bicycle owners who want to know more about using and maintaining their bike. The workshop will be taught by Baerre Wyman. He plans to cover: finding the right bike for you, general up-keep, identifying the parts on your bicycle, brake systems, trouble shooting tubes/tires and basic emergency road repairs.

Please feel free to bring your bike to the workshop.

Sliding scale donation $5+ or ORE credits.

Registration is not required, but if you plan to attend, please email us at
freeridemp@riseup.net or leave a message here so we can get a rough count.